Friday, August 24, 2007



The joys of gluten free pizza!!!!!

Its funny how some things you can get used to not having. I have pretty much lost all craving for bread. Gluten free bread just leaves much to be desired. It is better to go without than to eat what is available.

But, recently, the Knox Celiac group has discovered a new flour mixture. It is called Domata Living Flour. After reading the experiences of my fellow celiacs I just had to try this flour out.

It has been described as the closest thing to the real thing. Desperate for his wife to start making meals again, my husband quickly ordered 25 pounds of flour!!!! Last night we made cheese pizza and a special gourmet chicken pesto with feta and artichoke pesto sauce. Oh it was so good to finally eat pizza again that actually tasted good.

Tonight's meal was the real test. My ultimate comfort food is chicken and dumplings. I have a cracker barrel recipe that is the best. This new flour is supposed to be able to be substituted for regular flour in any recipe... so that's what I did. We had the best chicken and dumplings!!!! Brittney ate 2 bowls!!! Even Mya ate a bowl full. And me...well I was in the closest thing to heaven this side of heaven.

So thank you thank you Domata Flour Company for your creation. Thank you God for "real" food and the motivation to cook and to eat again. And thank you to my family for letting me experiment on them.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Does anyone know how to post a scream????? Because that's what every part of me wants to do right now. That and cry, laugh, bang my head against the wall, and scream. Sometimes my life goes from bad to worse to down right hillarious in the time you can count from o to 10!!!

If I told you everything that just happened in the past 30 minutes I am not sure that you would believe it. First let me set the stage: Jason woke up last night at 1 am. He wanted to make sure he got plenty of tv time in before school. The child never went back to sleep!!! At 3 Josh woke up compeletly soaked. Did I mention he was in my bed with me and Mya??? So we piled blankets on top and attempted to go back to sleep. Josh was more than ready to go to school and I thought the day was going to start at 3...especially since Mya was wide awake now. So you now have 2 very tired boys, and one very tired mom. And one little stinker of a baby who is now into everything and has decided she doesn't need sleep any more either. And of course, this is what always happens when my husband is out of town!

So shortly before bed, I discovered that my darling Jason had convinced Josh to find scissors and help him cut all the buckles off of the life jackets. Mind you, these were not the old, moldy life jackets...these were the newer ones that could be grown into by the next in line. But no...we just had to go and invent something new with THOSE buckels.

In the midst of the normal screaming and fighting that takes place every time all five of them are together in one room, Jason fell asleep on the couch. Mya finally fell asleep. Whew... I can breathe. Yeah, right. I started popping popcorn in the microwave but forgot about it while I was doing laundry. So I burnt their snack for tomorrow's school snack. Thank God there is more popcorn! I popped more while I got Brittney to bed. Jon was supposed to be taking his pills and Josh was supposed to be going to bed. The next thing I know Josh has plopped a huge handful of butter in the bowl where Jon's pills were. I guess he just assumed it was empty???? So Jon's pills ended up covered in butter. Pills ended up back in the butter container after Josh panicked and tried to fix what he had done.

Ok, so every night I dread doing pills with Jonathan. I don't know what happened. He used to do so well but in the past several months he has had such a hard time with taking them. I don't blame him- we are up to 13 pills every night! But I hate that time with him. So we are sitting there and every night he has this ritual where as soon as he sits down he has to go to the bathroom. Every three or four pills he has to get back up and go to the bathroom. It drives me crazy! Tonight, we were attempting to swallow butter covered pills and we got all the way to the very last 3 pills. I was pushing him to finish before getting up to go to the bathroom again when he gagged and proceeded to throw up every one of the pills. UGGGG!!!!!

I won't go into all the other nasty details of the past hour... I will keep it to myself... but I leave you with the laugh... after he threw up I told Jon to go into the bathroom since he had to go again. A few seconds later, he calls me from the bathroom.... ok mom so I am in the bathroom. Ok Jon what are you doing? I am waiting for you. He had no idea why he was in there at all....never mind that he had jsut thrown up all his pills during an effort to quickly finish and make it to the potty in time!!!! The things that just make me shake my head, grab my pillow and go to bed.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

One Hundred and One Degrees!!!!

Knoxville hit a record today...and so have we...the first time without airconditioning in such a high temperature! This afternoon I noticed the thermostat rising...80 degrees seemed a little too hot for the air conditioning to be working right.

So here is the part where we laugh at the bad that has come... what is it? When life throws lemons make lemonade...well, we have lemonade for sale- 5 cents a cup!!!!

I am laughing tonight. Thanking God for a swimming pool. And thanking him that I cans it back and watch the God who is more than able to provide for my needs take care of this one!

Just pray that Jon's body temp stays low... we are going to go stay at my mom's tomorrow until it gets fixed.

Until the air returns....

Wednesday, August 15, 2007


Joshua's First Day of School

Well, my baby has finally entered the realm of "big"! He has waited for this day for what seems like forever. The day has been circled for the past month and he has been crossing off the days.

Just like everything he does, Josh faced this new adventure with enthusiasm, independence, and an eager expectation. He announced this morning that he would be riding the bus to school. Mind made there was no looking back for this kid.

When I picked him, the first thing he said was "I didn't have to go to the principle's office." This was his greatest fear: somehow he wouldn't be able to be good and would have to go the principle's office. But he was good and he said he wasn't shy. So I think he is off to a great start...I think he takes after Brittney in so many ways.

I wish I could say I was one of those mamas who sat with kleenex in hand crying. This mama simply smiled a smile of success and quickly got back home to cherish the few hours of quiet before it was time to return to the kindergarten pickup line. I am very proud of him today!

Friday, August 10, 2007

Happy Anniversary to Me!!!!!

Today my husband and I celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. We usually don't make big deals out of things like our anniversary, our birthdays (except for the kids), mother's and father's day. Today is really no different... we went out to a Thai Restaurant for lunch with Jon and Josh and Mya. But in my heart today this is different than the rest of the anniversaries we have celebrated.

So even though today we won't go anywhere or do anything I am making a plan to celebrate big time... I just don't know how yet. I want to celebrate because you know what...its a BIG DEAL that we have made it 11 years!!! God in his grace has cemented us together and held us through the times that have attempted to pull us apart. So I was thinking with all we have been through we should rejoice and celebrate- it is a huge thing!

Check back a little later for a little glimpse into what our eleven years as husband and wife have held! Its been quite the adventure ... one that I will gladly go one for as many more years as the Lord gives us here on the earth. One thing is for sure... there is NO ONE I would rather have walking by my side holding my hand than this precious one that God chose for me!

Thursday, August 09, 2007

School has begun!!!! I must say I am happily looking forward to a few hours of semi- peace each day! Jason actually decided to go to school..his teacher is Brittney's teacher from last year. We are praising God for working that out. Ms Smythe is wonderful and up to the challenge! I am praying that we will not have the anxiety this year and he will be fine.

Jon should be set up on homebound soon and start his school year. I know he desperately wants to be at school with his friends but at the same time it makes him physically ill to be at school for any length of time. So I am going to try to get a real "homeschool" type schedule set up with him so he won't be so bored.

Jonathan had his chemo today. He is such a trooper. I wish that you all could see the way he lights up the clinic with his singing and compliments. He is forever telling the nurses how much he loves them and how beautiful they are. His counts are all really good- his sodium level was better today than it had been in a long while. Another example for why doctors should listen to mommies!

Sunday, August 05, 2007




Jonathan meets Bibleman!!!!
As you can tell, this was a very special time for Jonathan and the other kids. Although Jason and Josh sort of ran the show- Jonathan enjoyed meeting his hero and talking to him. Bibleman gave Jonathan a cape and mask, a DVD, a biblezine, and a bibleman figure. He was so excited!!!
The show was incredible. At the end of the show during the invitation to ask Jesus into their hearts, Jason and Josh both went forward. This is a great step forward in our desire to lead our children to Christ and to train them in the ways of God.
We were blessed by the generosity of Bibleman and the church members who hosted the show.Shawn and I felt such joy at being together with our spiritual family. It was a refreshing feeling... the kind of "spirit" you long for and look for in a church body. So much more warmth, love, and truth all wrapped up together. My children felt it too...they wanted to know if we could just move there.
Thank you to The Rock Family Worship Center for making this weekend so special to us!

Saturday, August 04, 2007

We are off!!! Thanks for praying for Jon. Please pray for a smooth trip down and back. Everyone is so excited. Tune in tomorrow for pics of Bibleman and the kids!

Friday, August 03, 2007

Please pray for Jon today!

We are supposed to leave in the morning for Alabama for the bibleman show. As it seems to be the way life is for us, everytime we plan to do something fun or special something gets in the way. Well, Jon had chemo yesterday. Today he woke up at 11am and his face is puffy, his eyes look swollen, he has a very nasty cough, and his body temp is wacky. Under his arm his temp was 91 degrees in his mouth it was 99. I am praying he isn't getting some kind of infection- Please pray that nothing will interfere with this trip. It is going to be so special. Jon is resting right now so hopefully he will feel better soon.
Thanks for your prayers.